Backwards in the Dark
by Gilari
Summary: - "I guess Sheridan puts his pants on one leg at a time" "Yeah, and sometimes backwards in the dark, too". Sheridan attempts to get dressed in the dark.


_Gideon: I'm sure Sheridan puts his pants on one leg at a time, like everybody else. _

_Lochley: Yeah, and backwards in the dark, sometimes. _

_Crusade, episode 7 "The Rules of the Game" _

John Sheridan did _not_ want to get up. He was perfectly contented to lie there in bed with his warm blankets around him and his warm wife asleep beside him. Getting up was extremely low on this list of things he wanted to do, and for a moment he was tempted to just forget it all and go back to sleep. But being a president was a lot of work, and Interstellar Alliances didn't run themselves. He had at meeting at 09:00 Minbari time, and he had a lot of paperwork to do before then.

He sighed. Duty was the only thing that could make him leave Delenn when she was curled up against him like that, looking like an angel with her dark hair spread over the pillows like a halo.

It was still dark, and John didn't want to turn the light on, lest he wake Delenn. She had been so tired since David's birth, and with a newborn in the house it was almost impossible to get a decent night's sleep. He had been used to running on only a few hours' sleep a night, but Delenn was utterly exhausted. Every hour of sleep was precious at this critical stage in her recovery.

John stumbled to the bathroom, tripping over a shoe on his way there. He cursed softly, reaching for a towel. Showering in the dark was going to be an adventure.

When he finished his morning routine, he snuck back into the bedroom, carefully avoiding that shoe. The suns still weren't up, and a grayish sort of light had crept into the room. It was just enough for John to see his way to his closet, and pull out the day's clothes. He hoped they matched, because in this light, he couldn't see anything but monochrome. He squinted at them, then shrugged, giving it up as a bad job.

He slid out of his soft flannel pajamas, tossing them on the floor. He would pick them up later. Dispite all of Delenn's assurances that Minbari sleeping robes were the last word in comfort, John still preferred the flannel sweatpants of the kind he had worn all throughout his adult life.

Without really looking, John grabbed his pants and shoved his legs into them. This proved a mistake. The legs were all tangled; someone had hung them up straight. John staggered a step, lost his balance, and fell with a resounding _thump_ onto the floor. He froze, swallowing his curses, hoping that Delenn wouldn't wake up. When nothing happened after a few seconds of silence, he got up, put his shirt on – with careful attention this time – and grabbed his suit jacket. He made it half way to the door before there was a rustle from the bed, and the bedside lamp clicked on.

"John?"

John turned around, as guilty as a schoolboy caught stealing apples.

"I was hoping I wouldn't wake you," he said, smiling ruefully at her.

"With the amount of noise _you_ make?" Delenn asked, her eyes sparkling.

"I was just… I wanted to get some work in before this morning's meeting," John explained. "I'm sorry I woke you, sweetheart."

Delenn was looking at him with a very strange look on her face.

"John?" she said. "Come here."

John meekly came forward, wondering what his wife was up to.

Delenn's face twisted, and her lips twitched. For a moment, she held it in, but then it burst out. She started to giggle, shielding her mouth with her hand.

"What?" John asked, perplexed.

Delenn's laughter got louder.

"Have you seen yourself?" she asked. "Your pants are on backwards. How did you manage_ that_?"

John looked down at himself, and saw that she was right.

His laughter joined hers.

_Author's Note: Just a completely random idea that popped into my head when I was watching Crusade. The idea of Sheridan putting his pants on backwards and then tripping over himself in the dark was such an endearing one, and so utterly like him, that I couldn't pass up the chance to write something on it. _


End file.
